About reconciling your accounts

As you write checks, withdraw money, make deposits, and incur bank charges, each of these transactions should be recorded in QuickBooks and then "matched" with the bank's records. This matching process is called reconciling. Reconciling your accounts is a key step to ensuring the accuracy of your accounting records.

Reconciliation in QuickBooks occurs within two windows: the Begin Reconciliation window and the Reconcile window.

Beginning your reconciliation

Some things you may want to consider before you begin your reconciliation:

If this is your first time reconciling this account, make sure you've added all your transactions and your opening balance is correct.

If your beginning balance is different from the balance on your current paper statement, you may need to track down the discrepancy before you reconcile. Click Locate Discrepancies in the Reconcile window to find out how to do this by viewing different types of reports.

Completing your reconciliation

The Reconcile window appears after you finish reviewing the information in the Begin Reconciliation window and click Continue.
Here is where you can refine the choices you want to match against your bank statement.

If you'd like to see fewer columns or add columns, click the Columns to Display button and modify accordingly.

Continuing your reconciliation later

If you start reconciling and realize you don't have all of the information you need, you can leave the reconciliation and finish later. QuickBooks will keep track of what you've selected so that you can finish later.